Slitting machine



Sept. Z6, 1961 J. E. socKE 3,001,787

SLITTING MACHINE ffl/W if Z l M A T wmv/SVS Sept. 26, 1961 J. E. socKE SLITTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 17, 1958 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Ptefnr SLITTING. MA a .lohn Eric Socke, Pelham Manor, N.Y., assigner to *Ameri* canCan Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Dec. 17, 1958. Ser. No. 781,052

The present invention relates to machines for slitting or cutting sheet material into strips lsuch as can body blanks and the like and has particular reference to improved roller gauging devices for properly aligning accuratelycut sheets for advancementthrough the machine.

In recent can or container making practice, the sheet material from which container bodies and other con tainer parts are made is delivered to the container mak# ing plants in strip'form, wound into rolls, andV `at the plant cut transversely` of' the strip to produce individual sheets. rFhe cutting ofthe strip into sheets is eected with an extremely high degree of accuracy, holding the cut edges in parallelism within a tolerancev for example, ofy five thousandths of an inch, so as to eliminate retrimming of these edges when the sheets are fed through a slitter to subdivide the sheets into'narrower strips for use as can body blanksr or other container parts; In order to eliminate this edge. trimming operation the sheetsl must befed through the slitter with their cut edges; in parallelismv with the line of travel ofthe sheet andi with these same cut edges properly' gauged" toy preserve this parallelism. 30

An object therefore of the invention is-the provision in a sheet slitting machine` of gauging devices which are readily yadapted to align and maintain accurately cut parallel edges of a sheet of material in parallelism with` the line of travelv of the sheet through the machine in order to use these edges as' portionsv of blanks' cut from' the sheet and thereby eliminate trimming of the sheets with a resultant saving in material.

Another Objectis the provision ofsuch gauging de vices which provides forlthe automatic accurate alignA ment of the sheet edges while the sheets are travelingv `at high speed into and through the machine so as to accommodate the machine`- to high speed production'.

Numerous other; objects and advantages" of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood fromthe following description, which taken in connection with the` accompanying drawings, discloses a. preferred' embodiment thereof.v

Referring to the drawings: y

FIGURE l is a top plan view of' asheet slittingr machine embodying the instant inventionwith parts broken away;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the machine including portions of the sheet gauging devices, with parts broken away; and

IFIGS. 3 -and 4 are detail views in vertical section respectively taken substantially along planes indicated by the lines 3--3, 4-#4 in FIG. 2.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings illustrate principal parts of a conventional slitting machine of the character disclosed in United States Patent 1,868,707, issued July 2.6, 1932, to I. W. Hothersall on Sheet Gauging Device for Slitting Machines. Such a slitting machine is utilized for cutting generally rectangular sheets A of tin plate, black iron or the like material into a plurality of longitudinal strips B from which can bodies or other suitable can parts are subsequently manufactured.

in the instant invention the sheets A preferably are of the character which are accurately cut from a reel of stock; with" twol opposing edgesparallel within very close tolerances suchfas' mentioned 'hereinbefore In. such av slitting machine, the sheets A are advanced into andthroughthe machine in spaced and timed processional orderwhiledi'sposed in a horizontal position supported' on a table-11 and with their 'accurately cut parallel edges inl parallelismwith thek line of travel of the sheets"-l A continuously actuated conveyor 12 having spaced feed dogsy 13 for propelling engagement withV the trailingun'cut edges' of the sheets, operates in a clearance groove 14 in the top of the'4 table; The conveyor 12' preferably is air-.endless chain conveyor which is actuated in a manner to*l be` hereinafter explained and operates over a sprocket 16 (FIG: l-) carried on"v a shaft17 journaled in bearings 1S Vattached; to the bottoni` of the table 11?.

Asa sheetfA is advanced through the machine along the top` of tlieltable 151, its accurately parallel cut edges are precisely) gauged and brought into exact parallelism with the line of" travel of the sheet and while the sheet` is so aligned, it is passed between conventional upper and lower cooperating rotar-yy cutters' or cutter blades Z and fee'df rollersl 222 which effect the longitudinal slitting ol?A the sheets iiitofthe stripsy or blanks B as mentioned'liereirl-above; Thee cutters or blades are mounted on transe verse parallel shaft'sf 23E 24; yas inf conventional slitting; machines, located above and below the top of thetalilef z1v1`vv and? journal-led bearings? 25' attached to-tlie table. 'Fliese' shafts 23; 24-

rneshing' gears 20 which rotate the' shafts in unison` and in opposite directions forl the;h passage ofi' the sheets between' theV upper and lower` cutter blades. Y Y

ShaftV 2"# may bei tliemain` driving' shaft and 'may bei? actuated any suitableT manner. As shown in tliedravfi ingftlie conveyor-shaft 1-75 preferably i'sldriven' fro'n'rsliaftl 2:42' througli an! endless chaingofv which operatesover sprockets-27?; Zlion the'shaft's l17, 24respectively.

G'auging ofthe sheetsA asstliey are propelled' along? tl'elt'opaoff the'table 1'1 preferably islelifeot'ed' by a: row-'0E stationary or xed gauge rollers 31 disposed' adjacenrtione edge offtliej advancing slieetsA andY by arow of' yieldably disposedvl gaugerol1ersf32` located adjacent' the'y opposite? edge v'ofthe slieets'asbestshownin FIG.l l.

Tlestationaryr gauge" rollersalv arelmounted'- on; shoul dered studs -33 -threadedly' secured in' the top-of'tliev table 11 in a-precise"straight'rowfdisposed in exact parallelism with-thepathofFtraveloftlie sheet alongthe table 1515. Tltisrow of"A rollers extends rearwardly from' the; cutter blades 21- fora distance-substantially equalj tothe-length? of a sheetA.

' 'Ihe'yieldab'l'y ldisposect'roll'ersr are mounted on: studs.

. SSCF'IGS. l', 2andf39v secured injthe' inner endA offleversi 3'6f which intermediatettlieir ends; are carriedl on' pivot3 studs'` 37i securedi innthe" .top` ofi' the`V table 11 in" arrow? parallel with the path of |travel of the sheets along the table. This row of gauge rollers 32 preferably starts about one third of the length of a sheet rearwardly from the cutter blades 21 and extends along the table 11 for a distance substantially equal to the length of the sheet, thus locating the yieldable rollers 3.2 in a slightly offset relation longitudinally of .the stationary rollers 31.

The inner ends of the levers 36 are spring loaded in a direction laterally of the sheet travel by virtue of ak compression spring 39 which is interposed between the end of each lever and a cooperating stationary post 41 secured to the -table 11.- A pin 42 in the post serves as a guide for the spring. There is one of these springs 39 'for each lever 36. The springs press the rollers 32 inwardly and yieldably against the adjacent edge of a sheet A advancing along the table 11 and thus align the sheet with the row of stationary or xed rollers 31 to locate the precisely cut edges of the sheet in parallelism with the line of travel of the sheet just prior 'to the leading edge of the sheet engaging the cutting blades 21.

When the yieldable rollers 32 are not in engagement with a sheet, as in lthe spaces between successively vadvanced sheets, their inward travel is limited by stop element located adjacent the outer ends of the levers 36. For this purpose, the outer ends of the levers 36 are formed with angularly disposed tails 44 which are interposed between a pair of adjustable screws 45 mounted in a pair of spaced lugs 46 which extend up from the table 11 (see FIG. 2).

Adjacent the entrance or lead-in rear ends of the stationary row of rollers 31 and the yieldable row of rollers 3 2 there are disposed yieldable lead-in rollers48, 49 (FIGQ l) which are laterally outwardly set-back out of alignment with the two rows ofV rollers 31,32 for thepurpose of transversely shifting a sheet A to insure smooth riding of the precisely cut edges of the sheet into position between the longitudinal rows of rollers 31, 32 as the sheet advances along the table. 'Ihe sheets as they are fed onto the table are previously rough gauged by a pair of straight spaced and parallel side guides 51, 52 secured to the top of the table. p

The offset lead-in rollers 48, 49 are mounted on pivot levers 53, which are similar to the yieldable roller levers 36 and which are mounted on the table and are spring loaded to be urged laterally inwardly toward the sheets moving along the table in the same manner as the levers 36. Y

Hence as a sheet A is fed along the table by the convcyor feed dogs 13 it is advanced between the rough gauging guide rails 51, 52 for rough gauging and continues on past the lead-in rollers 48, 49 which transversely shifts the sheet, if necessary, into proper relation for smooth entrance into position between the parallel rows of gauging rollers 31, 32. As shown in FIG. l, the lead-iu roller 49 is disposed in rearwardly spaced relation to the lead-in roller 48 so that roller 49 will l engage the sheet trst, if it -is -too far over in this direction and4 push it toward the roller 48 to insure smooth riding of the sheet edge into engagement with the stationary gauge rollers 31.

Upon passage of the leading end of the sheet between the lead-in rollers 48, 49 the yieldable gauge rollers 32,

in succession, engage the adjacent out edge of the ad vancing sheet and progressively and smoothly align the oppositely disposed cut edge of the sheet with the stationary gauge rollers 31 and thus align the precisely parallel cut edges of the sheet with the lineof travel of the s heet and retain the thus located sheet slightly under transverse compression while it advances smoothly without buckling, along the table. I

While the gauge rollers 31, 32 thus retain the advancing sheet in this precisely located position, -it vcontinues forward into and between the cutter blades or discsV 21 and said sheet is thus cut or slit into individual blanks B having precisely cut parallel said edges, as is required for subsequent embodiment of the blanks into cans or containers.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changesmay be made, inthe form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, -the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

l claim:

1. In a machine for slitting sheet material having two oppositely disposed and accurately dimensioned parallel side edges into strips of can body blanks and the like, said machine having a support for said sheets a conveyor for propelling said supported sheets in spaced relation along a predetermined line of travel, a row of iixed rollers disposed adjacent and in parallelism with saidline of travel -for gauging' one of said side edges of a said sheet, and a row of yieldable gauge rollers pivotally mounted adjacent said line of travel 'for engaging-the oppositely disposed side edge Vof said sheet to urge the sheet into engagement with said fixed rollers to precisely dispose said parallel side edges of the sheet in parallelism with said line of sheet travel to eliminate the necessity for trimming said sheet side edges, the improvement comprising pivotally mounting a transversely spaced longitudinally otset pair of said yieldable gauge rollers on said support on opposite sides of said line of sheet travel, said pair of rollers being disposed in advance of and offset laterally outwardly from said rows of xed and yieldable gauge rollers, whereby to facilitate initial aligned engagement'of said sheet with said rows of xed and yieldable rollers and to precisely align the opposite side edges of said sheet respectively with said rows of gauge rollers.

2. -The improved sheet material slitting machine of claim l, wherein a pair of spaced parallel guide r-ails are iixed on said sheet support in advance of said rows of fixed and yieldable gauge rollers for rough gauging said sheets prior to engagement of their opposite side edges with said initial pair ot laterally offset yieldable gauge rollers.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 926,205 Morgan June 29, 1909 1,029,159 Westerbeck lune 11, 1912 1,190,974 Arey July l1, 1916 1,361,588 Kelley Dec.Y 7, 1920 1,547,642 Casal July 28, 1925 '2,248,004 Lipton July 1, 1941 2,490,085 Nordquist Dec. 6, 1949 2,780,039 Cusick Feb. 5, 1957 

